The refuse collection business is one of the most rapidly growing areas of the economy. There is a correlation between the total population and the amount of refuse disposed of by the population. In addition, there is a correlation between the industrial level of a country and the amount of refuse disposed of by its population. As a country becomes more industrialized, its citizens become more literate and more affluent.
During the pick-up of refuse by a front end loader, the refuse may be blown by the wind while being dumped from the inverted refuse container into the refuse storage body. This is very undesirable since it creates a source of litter at the refuse pick-up point. Additionally, when the refuse storage body is substantially full, refuse may exend upwardly through the opening in the storage body. This is also undesirable since the refuse can then be dislodged or blown from the storage body when the refuse collection vehicle is moved over the road to another location.
During the lifting of a loaded refuse container by a front end loader, it is most desirable that the position of the container be maintained reasonably horizontal. Otherwise, the container may be able to slide relative to the fork arms which support it which could result in dropping of the container. Also, during lifting of the refuse container, it is most desirable that some means be provided to prevent the container from being dropped if there should be a failure in the supplying of hydraulic fluid to the mechanism used in operating the lifting arms or the fork arms which engage the container.
During the packing of refuse within a refuse storage body, liquid will be dispelled from liquifiable items within the refuse such as vegetables, fruit, and other waste materials. The liquid which is formed may create problems through drainage from the refuse storage body. Thus, it would be most desirable to provide some means for retaining liquid within the refuse storage body such that the liquid does not drain from the storage body.
When the tailgate is in a lowered position relative to the refuse storage body, the tailgate must be locked, in some manner, to the storage body. This may create problems when it is desired to raise the tailgate to discharge refuse through the rear opening in the storage body. Thus, for example, it may be necessary to manually unlock the tailgate from the refuse storage body before moving of the tailgate to a raised position. This would be undesirable since it might require that the operator leave the vehicle cab to unlock the tailgate before actuating the mechanism to move the tailgate to a raised position. Also, by having the locking mechanism separate from the mechanism for lifting the tailgate, the tailgate might be inadvertently left unlocked after being moved to a lowered position in contact with the refuse storage body. This could create a safety hazard since the tailgage could then open when refuse within the storage body was moved rearwardly and packed against the tailgate. For these reasons, it would be desirable to have a locking mechanism for the tailgate which would function in combination with the mechanism for lifting of the tailgate. The operator would then not have to leave the vehicle cab to unlock the tailgate and there would be no possibility of inadvertently leaving the tailgate unlocked after moving the tailgate to a lowered position in engagement with the refuse storage body.
Another aspect of the invention concerns a refuse collection apparatus having a refuse storage body with a rear opening and a tailgate positioned adjacent the rear opening for movement between a raised position to expose the opening and a lowered position to close the opening. The tailgate has a lower member which is downwardly inclined in the direction of the storage body and has a contact surface adjacent the rear opening. The storage body has an inner bottom surface and the lower tailgate member and contact surface project below said bottom surface with the lower tailgate member and contact surface in contacting relation to form a liquid receiving well when the tailgate is in its lowered position. Sealing means are positioned between the downwardly inclined tailgate member and the downwardly projecting contact surface which form the liquid receiving well.